Hillal Assad, head of a pro-regime paramilitary group, dies in firefight near Turkish border

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The head of a Syrian paramilitary force and cousin of President Bashar Assad died Sunday in clashes with rebels near the coastal city of Latakia, sources inside Syria said.

Syrian state media confirmed reports that Hillal Assad, head of the National Defense Forces, was killed near the border town of Kasab, 59 kilometers north of the pro-Assad city.

The National Defense Forces, a paramilitary force subordinate to the Syrian Army, is believed to be modeled after Iran’s Basij militia, and trained by Iran.

According to a statement published by a rebel group known as the Islamic Front, Assad’s cousin was killed by a Grad rocket in Latakia around 7:15 p.m. They claimed that Hillal was meeting with commanders in the home of Fawwaz Assad — the son of former president Hafez Assad’s brother.

Activists and state media reported earlier on Sunday that Syrian troops battled opposition fighters for control of a border post on the Turkish frontier.

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